


Till Death Do Us Part

by PhoenixDowner



Series: SoKai Kiss Prompts [8]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Hope, Kissing, Love, Mutual Pining, POV Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Pining, Post-Canon, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Prompt Fill, Rebirth, Reincarnation, Reunions, Romance, Temporary Character Death, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, Tumblr Prompt, star-crossed lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:35:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23943208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixDowner/pseuds/PhoenixDowner
Summary: In their final moments together, Sora and Kairi make a promise to find each other in the next life. Written for the prompt "A kiss because the world is ending" on tumblr.
Relationships: Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: SoKai Kiss Prompts [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1674613
Comments: 22
Kudos: 17





	1. Till Death Do Us Part

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Seaberry Siren (Lettrefeerie)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lettrefeerie/gifts).



The World had ended once in darkness before. Perhaps it wasn’t so surprising it was happening again. Despite all their efforts, they couldn’t change the cyclical nature of history.

The others were already gone, engulfed by the swirling darkness that had overtaken most of Scala ad Caelum. It was just Kairi and Sora left now. He slammed the double doors closed behind him to cut off the onslaught of Heartless for now, then joined her. She was doing her best to keep her light going, the last pure light in the universe. One glance at his face told her that he wouldn’t be able to protect her for much longer. His face betrayed his exhaustion and his hair was damp with sweat.

“Sora,” she said quietly. So much could be said in just one word, especially one as precious as his name. 

“What is it?” He sat next to her and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. They were by the window of the old study where Xehanort and Eraqus had once spent many a lazy hour playing chess. But instead of a beautiful blue sky outside, darkness covered the land. Everything had all begun here, and now everything would end here. 

“I’m afraid we’re out of time,” she said sadly. 

This was not what he wanted to hear. He grabbed her hand and held it tight. “You’re wrong. I can still hold them off. I can still fight. I promised to protect you, and I will. No matter what.” 

“And you _have_ protected me. You’ve gone above and beyond to keep me safe. But it’s time. The longer we wait, the longer our friends’ hearts and souls will hang in limbo.” 

He shook his head, and his drooping spikes went this way and that. “No. They wouldn’t want us to die like this. Giving up on the World just because we’re the only ones left.” 

“We’re not giving up. We’re just… cutting our losses for now.”

They’d been in many battles before, but something about this one just… felt different. It was unwinnable in a way not even their battle against Xehanort at the Keyblade Graveyard had been unwinnable. Fate itself was against them, and they’d defied it for so long that it had finally come to extract its toll. 

“Kairi, please,” he said, his voice anguished. “I can keep fighting—”

“What, so I can lose you too? So I can watch you die before I die?” 

“You’ve always been stronger than me,” he choked out. “We both know you could survive me dying. You’ve had to do it before. But I’m… I’m weak. Watching you die again would destroy me.” 

“Then we’ll die together,” she promised, resting her hand on his cheek. “Till death do us part.” 

Sora was many things to her now—her guardian, her protector, her dearest friend, her fiancé—but her biggest regret was that he would never be her husband. Not in this life or this reality, anyway. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t have better luck in the next life, and they could at least exchange vows in this one. 

He smiled sadly as he placed his hand over hers. “Till death do us part.” 

She took a deep breath. She didn’t want to get his hopes up for nothing, but she wasn’t without hope. 

“Darling, listen. My grandmother’s story makes me think this isn’t goodbye for good. Remember, the World was reborn once before, from the light in the hearts of children.” 

“That’s true. You think… we might be reborn too?” 

She nodded. “Maybe the light in my heart, in all our hearts, will help rebuild the World. I know we’re not kids anymore, but it’s still a story worth believing in.” 

“Yeah. And if we don’t rebuild it, the kids will.” 

He stroked her cheek, a peaceful look on his face for the first time since all of this began. Looking into his eyes and seeing the endless depths of love they held for her, even she could rest at long last. The World around them faded away as he brought her into his warm embrace and said her name softly, tenderly. This was how things should be. This was how things should always be. Dying didn’t seem so scary anymore, not when he was with her and she was in his arms. 

Still, there was one remaining fear in her heart, and he sensed it before she even said anything. 

“Something’s troubling you,” he murmured into her hair. “What is it?”

“When we’re reborn, how will we find each other again?” 

He leaned back a little so he could meet her eyes. “We’ll know each other.” 

“Even if we lose all our memories?”

He nodded. “It’s happened before, and yet we’ve always made it back to each other.” She didn’t say anything, so he removed his crown necklace and handed it to her, very solemnly. “I don’t know that we’ll be reborn with anything, but I’d like to give this to you all the same as a sign of my vow.” 

“And I’d like to give this to you,” she said as she handed him her necklace. They helped each other put the other person’s necklace on, and something about seeing him wear her necklace as she wore his necklace put her heart at ease. 

“There,” he said softly. “I swear I’ll come home to you, no matter how long it takes.” 

She nodded and smiled sadly. “It’s a promise.”

The double doors to the study burst open. The darkness was here. They were out of time. 

In their last moment together, Sora brought her into his arms again and kissed her. No wedding vow was complete without a kiss, after all, and how fitting it was for this to be their final act. Love in the face of loss, togetherness in the face of separation, life in the face of death. They held each other tightly, and the last thing she remembered before the darkness took them was his warmth and his smile. 


	2. Sehnsucht

The feeling first came to Kairi when her mother and father took her to see the cherry blossoms one spring.

“Pretty!” she cried as the breeze picked up and she tried to catch the petals in her hands. 

“They are beautiful, aren’t they sweetheart?” her mother said as she helped her father set up the tarp and lay out the snacks. It was time for _hanami_ , or flower viewing, and dozens of groups had already staked out their places beneath the cherry trees. 

“Look, papa!” She opened her palm and showed her parents the petals she’d managed to catch. 

“Very good, Kairi,” her father said. “And what’s this type of tree called?”

“Sakura, of course!” she said with a giggle. 

“Exactly. And they only bloom like this for a couple of weeks a year,” he said as he slipped his shoes off and sat on the tarp. “That’s why it’s important to enjoy them while we can.” 

“What happens after they bloom?” 

“Well, eventually the flowers die and all the petals fall to the ground.” 

She frowned at the petals in her hand. “They die?”

“Yes, and it’s very important that we mark their passing. But we must also appreciate things while they last. It’s…” He paused for a moment and frowned. “ _Mono no aware_.” 

Kairi tilted her head. “ _Mono no aware_? What’s that?”

“We all have a little sadness inside us,” her father explained. “But we have happiness too. Life is bittersweet, and the fact that we get to see it before it fades away is what gives it meaning.” 

“Yes, and once it fades away, new life comes to take its place,” her mother explained as she handed Kairi her thermos of green tea. “Next year the cycle will repeat and the flowers will bloom again.”

“Oh, okay.” Kairi frowned, and her hand fluttered to the crown necklace around her neck. “I… I can feel it. The sadness, I mean.”

“That’s good, sweetheart,” her father said. “Don’t be sad, but never forget that sadness, either. It’ll make the good times that much better.” 

She nodded. She took her father’s words and her mother’s explanation to heart, and every year, the cherry trees reminded her of their wisdom. She was glad they had shared it with her, for ever since she could remember, something had felt _wrong_. About her, about her life, about the nature of reality. 

It didn’t make any sense. She had a good life. Her parents loved her, and she had plenty of friends. She did well at school, and she’d even won a regional competition for her art. 

Today she was going to see it at the Prefectural Art Museum with her parents and Selphie. Selphie looped her arm through Kairi’s and excitedly chatted away about all the latest gossip at school, but Kairi found herself zoning out as they wandered the halls of the museum. 

“Earth to Kairi? Did you hear what I just said?” Selphie said with a sigh. 

“Sorry, no. Could you repeat it again?”

“Kento likes you! Aren’t you gonna go out with him?”

“Er, no?”

“Kairi!” Selphie whined. “He’s so good-looking, and nice, too!”

“Sure, but I’m just not interested in him.”

Selphie rolled her eyes. “I swear, no one is good enough for you! It’s like you’re holding out for someone that doesn’t even exist.” 

“Well, maybe I am,” Kairi said cryptically. “In the meantime, have at Kento and whoever else catches your eye.”

Selphie smirked. “With your blessing, I will.”

They wandered around the art museum a little longer until they found the right gallery. There. On the wall was the painting Kairi had made. Seeing it again stirred up those old feelings of… of _mono no aware_ , as her father had called it. Ever since she could remember, a shadowy figure had haunted her dreams. But he wasn’t scary, not at all. Something about him felt… familiar, almost. Some nights, she could almost hear his voice. But his face always eluded her. 

Selphie’s eyes went wide as she gazed at the painting. “Kairi, this is beautiful. You really made this?” 

“Yeah, I did. Crazy, right? The inspiration just struck one day, and I couldn’t stop till I was finished.”

 _Against a background of sky and sea,_ the caption next to the picture read, _a shadowy figure hovers over the waves and reaches its hand towards the viewer. But in a stroke of brilliance, its face is obscured by the light from the sun, thus allowing the viewer to imagine whatever face they may wish. Artist: Kairi Uchida, third year high school student and winner of the Tokyo Prefectural High School Art Contest._

“ _Sehnsucht_?” Selphie said as she read the title. “What’s that?”

“It’s a German word. It’s kinda similar to _mono no aware_ , but it means something more like… a deep longing for something better, I suppose.” 

Kairi had discovered the word in her quest to put into words the feeling she’d carried with her all her life. A German author had written a poem with the same title that captured how she felt perfectly, and this painting was inspired by it and by her dreams. 

Selphie studied the painting for a few moments. “So this is your dream guy, huh?”

“N-No!”

“Uh-huh. Sure it’s not. It’s just too bad he doesn’t have a face.” 

“Yeah,” Kairi said with a sigh. Until she discovered the identity of her shadowy figure, the _Wunderland_ Friedrich Schiller had written about would forever elude her. With each passing year, the longing and dissatisfaction inside of her grew. 

Maybe she really was just chasing a shadow. Maybe the thing, no, the person she hoped for didn’t really exist. She should follow her father’s advice and enjoy the things she already did have in life while they lasted. And maybe, just maybe, the longing itself was a part of it, a part of _mono no aware._

Still, as she gazed at the painting for a few moments longer, she couldn’t help but wonder:

Did her shadow long for her as much as she longed for him? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to Seaberry-Siren for giving me the original prompt, Alja for her help with fleshing this into a full-blown story and reading it over for me, and Rapis_Razuri for also reading it for me! I was also listening to a song by Ravel called “Mother Goose Ballet M. 62: Apotheosis: The Fairy Garden” (Ma mère l’oye, ballet M. 62: Apothéose: Le Jardin féerique. Lent et grave in French) on loop the entire time after I’d found it by chance, and it actually inspired me to keep writing this story. And that poem Kairi mentions is very much real; you can find an English translation of it [here](https://classicalpoets.org/2018/05/29/a-translation-of-longing-by-friedrich-schiller/) if you like with the original German following it. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who left comments on the last chapter! I really appreciate the support. I’m thinking this story will have one more chapter, but we’ll see!


	3. Come With Me

The years passed, and Kairi graduated first from high school and then from university. She had a good job lined up at a prestigious company starting in April, but the month of March was hers to do with as she pleased. 

Maybe waiting wasn’t good enough anymore. If her shadow couldn’t come to her, she should go find him. 

“Mom, Dad, I want to travel,” she announced one morning over breakfast. 

Her parents exchanged glances. 

“Any reason why you can’t wait till Golden Week?” her father asked before snatching a piece of tofu out of his miso soup with his chopsticks. 

“Because I’ll be working then, and I don’t know if the company will let me have much of a break. You know how it is for new employees.” 

“Well, you do have some money saved up, don’t you?” her mother said. 

“Yup, from my part-time job. And I can get a Seishun 18 Ticket to keep costs down.” 

“Where are you thinking about going?” her father asked. 

“Well, Selphie’s family is from Osaka originally, and she offered to let me stay with her. So I figured I could start out with Kansai first, and maybe hit up Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara while I’m with her?” 

“Why not?” her mother said with a sparkle in her eye. “One last hurrah before starting working life.” 

Her father nodded. “Heaven knows you’ll need it, sweetheart. The first year at a new job is always rough. They really put you through the ringer with training.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, then handed her several crisp ten thousand yen bills. “Our treat.” 

Kairi’s eyes went wide. “Father, I can’t—”

He just smiled at her. “Yes, you can. Go on your adventure. Have fun. Just keep Selphie with you. Not because I’m worried about you, but because I think her parents might worry about her,” he joked. 

“Maybe you’ll find that young man in the painting you made back in high school,” her mother said with a teasing smile.

“Maybe so.”

With all the logistics settled, she boarded the train for Osaka. Because she was using the discount ticket, it was going to take longer than normal, but she didn’t really mind. She loved seeing all the beautiful sights outside her window, all the sleepy towns and misty mountains and pretty flowers as the coming of spring brought the world back to life. 

When she finally arrived in Osaka, Selphie was there to greet her at the station.

“Welcome to my neck of the woods!” Selphie said with a grin as she took one of her bags. “Now that we’re here, I’ll have to take you to get Osaka-style okonomiyaki, and we’ll have to eat takoyaki at some point too, and we should also go to Universal Studios Japan and the Kaiyukan Aquarium and—” 

“Actually, I was wondering… could we go to Kyoto tomorrow?” Kairi asked. “I was thinking… Kyoto tomorrow, Osaka the next few days, and then Nara?” 

“Sure, that works. But I really wanna take you to my favorite okonomiyaki place tonight!” 

“Deal.” 

The okonomiyaki place was just as good as Selphie had promised. The savory meal with its pork and cabbage filling and delicious toppings was more than enough to fill her up, and she was about ready to crash by the time they got back to Selphie’s house. She made sure to greet Selphie’s family and give them a thank you gift before excusing herself to take her evening bath, but once she was lying down on an extra futon in Selphie’s room with Selphie sleeping soundly beside her, she couldn’t sleep. 

Something major was going to happen, she just knew it. She’d had this gut feeling ever since she’d decided to come here, and it only grew stronger the closer and closer she got to Kyoto. That was why she wanted to go tomorrow instead of waiting several more days. She didn’t know why, but she had to get to Kyoto no matter what. 

The next morning, she and Selphie got up early so they could catch the train. Despite the restless night she’d spent, she was feeling energized and awake. 

“You haven’t been to Kyoto since our high school trip, have you?” Selphie asked as they watched the scenery go by. “Any particular places you want to visit?”

“Are the cherry trees blooming yet? I’d love to go somewhere that has a lot of them. Maybe one of the temples?” 

“How about Kiyomizu Temple? We’ve had an early warm spell this year, so at least some of the cherry trees should be blooming by now. I’d love to get some matcha ice cream on the way back down in Higashiyama, too.”

“Sounds good.” 

Kiyomizu Temple was as splendid as Kairi remembered, and the view from the mountain was gorgeous. All of Kyoto spread out below them, and she made sure she and Selphie got some good shots together with the cherry trees peppering the mountainside. After praying at the main hall, Selphie insisted they stop by Jishu Shrine. 

“Don’t you remember how the legend goes?!” Selphie asked with a pout. “If you can find your way from one stone,” she said, pointing at the one currently in front of them, “to the other,” she said as she jabbed a finger at a second stone a little ways away, “AND you can do it with your eyes closed, you’ll have good luck with love!” 

“Oh, I remember now.”

“So,” Selphie said with a grin, “you gonna try it?”

“Sure, why not,” Kairi said. She had nothing to lose, right?

“Maybe this will summon your dream man.” Selphie giggled and grabbed Kairi’s hand and put it over her eyes. “No peeking, or the magic won’t work!” 

“Right.” 

It was a pretty straight shot from one stone to the other, so if Kairi was careful not to stray too far to the left or right, she’d be okay. Of course, this was easier said than done at a place as popular as this, because she had to make constant little detours to avoid running into people, and people still bumped into her all the same. But she carefully counted her steps and used the sounds around her to guide her. Maybe this was just a silly superstition, but a part of her really wanted to do this right. 

_Please, please let me find him,_ she prayed. _Let me reach the other stone so I’ll be lucky at last._

She had to be getting close, right? How long had she been wandering around without her sight? 

“Selphie? Am I hot or cold?” she called. “I think… I’m kinda lost…” 

She felt an arm loop through hers. “Nah. You aren’t lost. You’re right where you need to be, Kairi.” 

She gasped. That voice. She knew that voice—

She felt a hand go over her eyes. “Don’t look just yet. Can’t have you unlucky in love, now can I? Just follow my lead, and I’ll tell you when we’ve arrived.” 

She nodded, unable to speak. Her shadow. Her shadow was really here. He was here and he was _real._ He gently led her to the stone, and when her feet bumped up against it, he removed his hand from her eyes. 

“See? You did it!” 

But she didn’t care about the stone anymore, not one single bit. There was something far more important than all the stones in the universe. She turned around so she could see her shadow’s face. He was as beautiful as she remembered, and the smile lighting up his face was radiant. Around his neck he wore a necklace, _her_ necklace, and his blue eyes reflected the longing that she had carried with her her entire life.

No, this life. It was all coming back to her. Their old life, their old memories, everything. 

“Sora,” she cried as she burst into tears. In another moment his arms were around her, holding her tightly. But he was crying now too, and she wasn’t sure who was comforting who.

“I’m back,” he choked out. “I kept my promise.” 

“You’re home,” she said with a sob. “You’re really here.” 

He pulled away a little so he could look her in the eye. “I looked everywhere for you. My whole life I’ve longed to see you again. I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too.” 

He brought a trembling hand to her face. “I still can’t believe you’re really here. Feels too good to be true.”

“It’s not, trust me. This is real.”

He smiled through his tears. “Yeah, it is. My journey is over at long last. And to think, we’d meet each other here by chance, What are the odds?”

She shook her head. “It wasn’t chance. It was meant to be.” 

The breeze picked up, lifting cherry tree petals into the air and making them float past. She caught one and smiled. 

“It’s gone.”

Sora tilted his head. “What’s gone?”

“ _Mono no aware. Sehnsucht_. That feeling that something was missing my whole life. That I was longing for something more. You.”

“Kairi,” he said, ever so softly and tenderly. He gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face, and she sighed happily. Their last kiss had been when the world was ending, but this, this was about to be a kiss of beginning—

“Um, hello?” came a voice, interrupting them. “I’m still here. Got everything on camera, too,” Selphie said with a giggle as she lowered her phone. “So _you’re_ Kairi’s dream guy, Sora. Can’t believe I didn’t remember you till now.” 

Sora scratched the back of his neck and laughed. “Not the first time that’s happened.”

“Hey now!” 

Kairi giggled and Sora grinned. “Glad to see you haven’t changed, Selphie.”

“Well, I know when to make myself scarce. Meet me back at Kyoto Station this evening, you lovebirds. Matcha ice cream awaits me.” 

They said goodbye to Selphie, then looked at each other again. Kairi would never tire of seeing his spiky hair, his beautiful eyes, his charming smile. 

“Well, now that we’re alone in a sea of people…” 

He led her a little ways away from the crowds, then dropped to one knee. A lump built in her throat as she watched him fish a little box out of his pocket. 

“Kairi,” he began, the biggest smile on his face as he opened the box up, “will you marry me?” 

Inside the box was an engagement ring just like her old one. She burst into tears as she nodded and said yes, over and over again. He was a little teary himself as he slipped the ring on her finger and then kissed her hand. She pulled him up into her arms and kissed him over and over again, each kiss to make up for all the lonely years they’d spent apart. 

“I love you,” she choked out between kisses. 

He smiled. “Love you too.” 

She kissed him one last time, a long, lingering kiss that promised him everything. Now that they were together again, she never wanted to be apart from him. 

He found her hand once more. “Come with me,” was all he said, and that was all she needed to hear. 

They were together again, and she wanted to savor every moment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you once again to Seaberry-Siren for the original prompt, Alja for reading it over and providing input, and Rapis_Razuri for her support as well! And thank you to everyone who commented, I really appreciate it!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Seaberry-Siren for the prompt! 
> 
> This is one of the angstier things I’ve written lately, but it’s not without hope! I have ideas for Sora and Kairi meeting again in their next lives thanks to some conversations I had with a friend. I wanted to write those as well and include it all together with this, but I’ve just been so… creatively dry lately, I guess, and this is the best I could do for now. If I do wind up continuing this story, you all will be the first to know, haha. I don’t want to leave you hanging, but I also don’t know when I’ll have the energy and drive to write at the pace I usually do. 
> 
> I still have one last kiss prompt left, but in the meantime, if you’re wanting to read more SoKai kiss prompts, they include, “A kiss to pretend, “A good morning kiss,” “A kiss on a falling tear,” “A kiss in secrecy,” “A kiss in public,” “A kiss out of necessity/A kiss to wake up," and "A kiss for luck." Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!


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